Voting ballot handling machine



Jan. 15, 1963 w. .J. HOLT, JR., ET AL 3,073,445

VOTING BALLOT HANDLING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1959HOLT-Tn INVENTORS WILL/4M \T.

United States Patent 3,073,445 VOTING BALLOT HANDLING MACHINE William J.Holt, Jr., Pacific Palisades, and Michael V.

Braine, Malibu, Calif., assignors, by mesue assignments, to UnitedAircraft Corporation, East Hartford,

Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 860,27714 Claims. (Cl. 209-74) Our invention relates to a voting ballothandling machine and more particularly to an automatic voting ballothandling machine which rapidly and expeditiously sepa- Irates ballots ofa supply of unsorted ballots.

Machines are known in the prior art for totaling the number of ballotsfed to the machine. Some of these machines of the prior art count onlyacceptable ballots and do not count rejected ballots. These machines,however, include no provision for separating acceptable ballots fromrejected ballots but merely eject all ballots to a common stack. It isdesirable that acceptable ballots be separated from rejected ballots ata counting center where votes are tabulated. In order that this beaccomplished, .it is required that the ballots be accurately alignedwith the machine if acceptable ballots are to be properly sensed toaccomplish the sorting operation. It is further desirable that thecounting and separation of ballots be accomplished in as rapid and asexpeditious a manner as is possible. It will be obvious that handfeeding of ballots to a sensing means with the ballots correctly alignedto permit the sensing means to function properly would require aninordinate amount of time. would represent very little advance over avisual counting and separating the ballots.

We have invented an automatic voting ballot handling machine whichrapidly and expeditiously separates acceptable ballots from rejectedballots. Our machine is provided with a very simple means for ensuringthat the ballots to be separated are accurately aligned with the sensingmeans of the machine. Our machine accomplishes this result while at thesame time operating at a relatively high speed. Our machine may bemodified to count ballots of various sizes. It keeps the ballot undercontrol at all times. It ejects ballots which may become folded or tornto prevent jamming of the machine.

One object of our invention is to provide a voting ballot handlingmachine which rapidly and expeditiously separates acceptable ballotsfrom rejected ballots.

Another object of our invention is to provide a voting ballot handlingmachine which is simple in construction for the results produced by themachine.

A further object of our invention is to provide a voting ballot handlingmachine which is not likely to jam.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a voting ballothandling machine which is adapted to handle a number of different sizesof ballots.

Other and further objects of our invention will appear from thefollowing description.

In general our invention contemplates the provision of a voting ballothandling machine including a continuously rotating evacuated drumadapted to pick a number of ballots in sequence from a supply of ballotsheld in alignment on a supply rack adjacent the rotating drum. As thedrum rotates, it carries the ballots in sequence past a reading station,an acceptable ballot take-off station, and a rejected ballot take-offstation. In the event that a ballot is an acceptable one, the readingheads produce signals which actuate the acceptable ballot take-off meansto remove the ballot from the drum and to feed the ballot Such a systemice to an acceptable ballot tray. 'If the ballot is a rejectedballot,the acceptable ballot take-oft means is not operated,

but the ballot is carried past the acceptable ballot takeoff station tothe rejected ballot take-off means which removes the ballot from thedrum and feeds the ballot to a rejected ballot tray. 'We provide ourmachine with means for ensuring that any ballot picked up by the drum isstripped from the drum whether or not the take-off means operateeffectively. We provide our machine with means for sensing the presenceof a supply of ballots to be separated.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the instantspecification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and inwhich like reference numerals are used 'to indicate like parts in thevarious views: 7

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of our voting ballot handling machinewith parts removed and with other parts shown in section illustratingthe components of our voting ballot handling machine. I k

FIGURE 2 is a schematic view of one form of driving arrangement whichmay be used to drive the various ele ments of our machine. I

FIGURE 3 is a schematic view of one form of electrical circuit which maybe used to control the operation of our voting ballot handling machine.7 H

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, our machineincludes a frame, indicated generally by the reference character 10. Werotatably mount the hollow shaft 12 of an evacuated drum, indicatedgenerally by the reference character 14, on the frame 10 by any suitablemeans such as bearings 16 and 18. A shaft 20 supported on extensions 22on the frame 10 pivotally carries a frame including a pair of brackets24, one of which is shown in FIGURE 1. Brackets 24 support rods 26 whichextend through openings in supports 28 carried by the base 30 of aballot support 32. We mount respective cylinders 34 carrying pistons 36on the brackets 24. We connect the rods 38 of pistons 36 to the base 30.Springs 40 disposed within the cylinders 34 normally urge pistons 36 tothe right, as viewed in FIGURE 1, to urge the ballot support 32 to moveto the right as viewed in the figure along the rods 26.

Respective pistons 42, one of which is 'shown in FIG- URE 1, have rods44 pivotally connected to pins 46 on the frame brackets 24. We providesprings 48 disposed within cylinders 50 associated with pistons 42 'fornormally urging the pistons downwardly and to the right, as viewed inFIGURE 1. W pivotally mount the cylinders 50 on the frame 10. From thestructure just described it will be seen that springs 48 act on thepistons 42 normally to urge the support 32 to an erect position. Springs'40 normally urge the erected support 32 to the right, as viewed inFIGURE 1.

We provide the support 32 with spaced pins 52 for receiving a stack ofballots 54. When the support is to be loaded with a stack of ballots 54,it is swung about its shaft 20 in the direction of the arrow A in FIGUREI against the action of springs 48 to a position past dead center atwhich the support 32 rests substantially in a horizontal plane. Weprovide each ballot 54 with a pair of spaced holes 56 having slits orslots 58 leading into the holes from the edge of the ballot. With theholes of a stack of ballots aligned, the ballots may be slid onto thepins by means of holes 56. The slots 58 permit individual ballots to bewithdrawn from the stack without the danger of tearing the ballots.

The frame 10 supports an evacuated housing 60 forming a chamber 62 whichis connected by a pipe 64 to a suitable source of reduced pressure to bedescribed hereinafter. Housing 60 includes a flat plate 66 provided witha plurality of holes 68.

After the ballot carrier 32 has been loaded with a supply of ballots 54,it is moved to its erect position in which it is held by the action ofsprings 48. Springs 40 urge the carrier 32 and its stack of ballots 54against the plate 66 of the housing 60. Atmospheric pressure actingagainst the reduced pressure with the housing 60 serves to hold theindividual ballots firmly against the exterior surface of the perforatedplate 66 in a position at which they may be picked up by the drum 14 ina manner to be described.

We provide the drum 14 with a number of ballot pickup valve assembliesindicated generally by the respective reference characters 70, 72, 74,and 76. Each of these assemblies includes a plurality of shutter valves78 aligned in a row across the interior of the drum. Each valve 78includes a solenoid 80 adapted to be energized to open the valve topermit communication between the interior of the drum and an opening 82formed in the skin of the .drum. We may provide as many valves 78 ineach assembly as are required for proper operation of the machine. Thenumber of active valves 78 in the units may be varied in a manner to bedescribed hereinafter to permit our machine to accommodate ballots ofvarious sizes. We provide the surface of drum 14 with shallow peripheralgrooves 15 to permit the vacuum to operate without binding in holding aballot against the drum surface.

, As one of the units or assemblies 70, 72, 74, and 76 approaches theballot carrier 32, its valves are opened to cause the top ballot 54 ofthe stack on the carrier to be pulled oif the carrier and carried alongwith the drum. After a ballot has thus been picked up, it moves alongwith the drum toward a synchronous roller and belt assembly, indicatedgenerally by the reference character 84. .The assembly 84 includesrespective rolls 86, 88, and 90 having shafts 92, 94, and 96 rotatablysupported on the frame in suitable bearings (not shown). The rolls 86,88, and 90 carry a plurality of spaced belts 98 in engagement with thesurface of drum 14. These belts 98 engage the ballot as it is carried bythe assembly 84 by the drum 14 to hold it firmly against the drum and toprevent it from becoming folded, crumpled, or torn as it is carriedalong with the drum. We mount scanning devices 100 and 101 on the frame10 in the space enclosed by belts 98 adjacent the surface of the drum14. The scanner 100 may, for example, be a photoelectric scanner of atype known to the art to which light, emanating from .a source 109 isreflected by a ballot printed with suitable light and dark areas.Alternatively it could be a mag- "netic pickup or the like actuated bysuitable magnetic in- .dicia recorded on an acceptable ballot passing bythe head. Preferably this scanner actuates a counter 103 to provide acount of the number of acceptable ballots passing by head 100. Thescanner 101 may be of any suitable type known to the art which isactuated each time a ballot passes by. Scanner 101 operates a counter105 for deter- ;mining the total number of ballots passing through themachine.

As the drum 14 rotates after a ballot has been moved past the assembly84, it approaches the acceptable ballot take-off unit indicatedgenerally by the reference character 102. The unit 102 includes anacceptable ballot take-off drum 104 having a hollow shaft 107 connectedto a source of reduced pressure to be described hereinafter. We employany suitable bearings 108 for rotatably supporting the drum 104 on theframe 10. A plurality of belts 106 carried by the drum 104 and by a roll,1-10, rotatably supported by the frame 10, frictionally engage the drumsurface. A roll 112 provides the required tension for the belts 106.

We provide drum 104 with a plurality of ports 114 which are under thecontrol of a solenoid-operated shut- 4 ter valve 116, the solenoid 118of which is adapted to be energized to open the ports 114.

Owing to the fact that in the particular form of our invention shown,the drum 14 includes four pick-off valve assemblies 70, 72, 74, and 76,the take-off unit 102 is required to operate four times for eachrevolution of the drum 14. In order that the drum 104 will make fourrevolutions for each single revolution of the drum 14, we provide drum104 with a diameter which is equal to one quarter of the diameter ofdrum 14. Thus owing to the friction drive provided by belts 106 betweendrum 14 and drum 104, the latter drum makes four revolutions in thecourse of a single revolution of drum 14.

In the event that an acceptable ballot causes the reading heads toproduce an electrical signal, as the unit carrying the ballot arrives atthe acceptable ballot take-off station, its valve solenoids 80 arede-energized and solenoid 118 is energized to open ports 114 to causethe acceptable ballot take-off drum 104 to remove the ballot from thedrum 114. As this acceptable ballot is carried around with drum 104, itenters a low speed belt system indicated generally by the referencecharacter 120.

The system 126 includes a plurality of belts 122 carried by respectiverolls 124, 126, and 128 rotatably supported in the machine frame. Weprovide means to be described hereinafter for driving the shaft 130 at aspeed which produces a linear speed of belts 122 which is considerablylower than the linear speed of belts 106. The system 120 includes asecond plurality of belts 132 supported by rolls 134, 1 36, and 138rotatably carried by the frame 10. From the arrangement shown it can beseen that an acceptable ballot carried away from drum 14 by the drum 104passes between the belts 122 and 132, around roll 124 and around roll138 to the undersides of belts 132. We mount a thin, vacuum housing 140adjacent to and over the lower portions of belts 132 as shown inFiGURE 1. This housing 140 is normally connected by a pipe 142 to asource of reduced pressure to be described hereinafter to hold theacceptable ballots against the undersides of belts 132 until the lastacceptable ballot of a stack has been separated in a manner to bedescribed. When this occurs, the ballots are released to permit them tofall to an acceptable ballot tray 144 disposed below the belts 132 onthe frame 10.

In the event that a ballot carried by a unit of the drum 14 past theheads 100 is not an acceptable ballot, then the heads 100 do not producethe accept output signal and the valves 78 of the unit do not close asthe unit approaches the acceptable ballot take-off unit 102. Neither isthe solenoid 118 of the drum 104 energized. Thus the rejected ballot iscarried along by the drum 14 until it enters the rejected ballot take-0Eunit indicated generally by the reference character 146. The unit 146includes an evacuated drum 148, the hollow shaft 150 of which isconnected to the source of reduced pressure to be de scribedhereinafter. Suitable bearings 152 rotatably support shaft 150 on theframe 10. We provide the skin of drum 148 with a plurality of spacedvacuum ports 154 adapted to be connected to the interior of the drumthrough a valve 156 operated by a solenoid 158. The drum 148 togetherwith a roll 160 supported by frame 10 carries a plurality of belts 162which frictionally engage drum 14. Since in the particular form of ourinvention shown the drum 148 like the drum 104 must operate four timesduring each revolution of drum 14, we provide drum 148 with a diameterwhich is one-quarter the diameter of drum 14. Thus under the action ofthe friction drive between drum 14 and belts 162, drum 148 rotates atfour times the speed of rotation of drum 14.

As a rejected ballot is carried by the drum 14 into the reject take-offsystem 146, the valves 78 of the pick-off assembly carrying the ballotclose to permit the belts 162 to carry the ballot to the drum 148. Thevalve 156 of the drum 148 is opened in a manner to be described to causethe drum 148 to pick the ballot from the drum and.

carry it toward a slow speed belt system indicated generally by thereference character 164. The system 164 includes a plurality of belts166 supported on rolls 168, 170, 172, and 174 supported on the frame 10.We provide means to be described hereinafter for driving the shaft 176of roll 174 at a speed which produces a linear speed of belts 166 whichis less than the linear speed of belts 162. The system 164 includes asecond plurality of belts 178 carried by rolls 180, 182, and 184rotatably supported in the frame 10. After approximately half arevolution of the drum 148 which has picked up a rejected ballot from.the drum '14, the valve 156 is permitted to close and the ballot passesbetween belts 166 and 178. These belts carry the ballot around roll 170and around roll 184 to the undersides of belts 178, as viewed in FIG-URE 1. We mount a thin evacuated housing 186 over the lower portions ofbelts 178. Housing 186, like the housing 140, includes a perforatedplate 188 immediately over the lower portions of belts 178. A pipe 190normally connects the interior chamber of housing 186 to a source ofreduced pressure in a manner to be described hereinafter to cause theballots to be held up against the undersides of the lower portions ofbelts 178. The dimensions of housing 186 are such that ballots are helduntil their leading edges are adjacent to the front of a tray 1-92disposed below the belts. Thus rejected ballots are neatly stacked inthe tray.

We provide our machine with a plurality of thin spaced belts 194 whichride in grooves 196 in the surface of drum 14. A roll 198 rotatablysupported in extensions 200* on frame gmides the belts 194 away from thesurface of the drum 14 at the rejected ballot removal station to ensurethat any ballot fed into the machine is carried away from the drumwhether or not the drum take-ofi means operates properly. In this mannerwe prevent folded or torn ballots from jamming our machine.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, we provide a motor 202 having a shaft 204 fordriving a sprocket wheel 206. A chain 208 connects the sprocket wheel206 to a sprocket wheel 210 on shaft 12 to rotate drum 14. This actionalso ensures the rotation of drums 104 and 148 through the frictiondrives described hereinabove. Conveniently, motor 202 drives a secondsprocket wheel 212 conlnected by a pitch chain 214 to a sprocket wheel216 carried by shaft 130 for rotation with the shaft. A pitch chain 218connects a sprocket wheel 220 on shaft 130 to sprocket wheel 222 carriedby shaft 176 for rotation with the shaft. We construct sprocket wheels212 and 216 with diameters such that the slow speed belt systems 120 and164 move at a relatively lower linear speed than .do belts. 106 and 162.It will be appreciated that, if desired, we could employ separate drivemotors for the sloW speed belt systems. 7 Any suitable means such as apump 224 driven by a linkage 226 from a'motor 228 provides the source of"reduced pressure of our system. In operation of motor "228 it reducesthe pressure within a manifold 230 to below the ambient pressure at themachine location. Any convenient means such as a rotary joint 232, forexample, connects the hollow shaft 12 of drum 14 to a pipe 234 connectedto manifold 230. A similar joint 236 connects'hollow shaft 106'to a pipe238 leading to the manifold. A joint 240 connects hollow shaft 150 to apipe 242 leading to manifold 230. Respective valves 244 and '248 connectthe housings 140 and 186 to the manifold.

'of motor 202, the other terminal of which we connect to ground. Weconnect a holding relay winding 254 in parallel with motor 202. Whenpush button switch 250 1is..operated, motor .202 starts and winding 254is energized. We connect a normally closed stop push button switch 256and a normally open switch 258 associated with winding 254 in seriesacross button 250. When winding 254 is energized in the manner describedhereinabove, it operates a linkage 260 to close switch 258 to provide aholding circuit for motor 202 through the stop button 256. This circuitcan be broken by actuation of the stop button 256.

Our control circuit includes a normally energized conductor 262. Weprovide our system with means for energizing the conductor 262 as longas a supply of ballots 254 is on the carrier 32. A suitable source ofenergy such as a lamp 264 or the like is connected between terminal 252and ground. We connect a suitable sensing device such as a photoelectriccell 266 in series with a relay winding 268 between terminal 252 andground. The relative disposition of the source 264 and the detector 266is such that with a supply of ballots on carrier 32, the top ballotreflects suflicient light to energize the phooelectric cell 266 tocomplete the circuit of Winding 268 to close a normally open switch 270by means of a linkage 272 to energize conductor 262.

We connect solenoid windings a of the valve unit 70 in parallel betweena conductor 272 and a commutator segment 274 carried by shaft 12 forrotation therewith. We connect the solenoid windings 80b in parallelbetween conductor 272 and a commutator seg ment 276 carried by shaft 12for rotation therewith. We connect the group of solenoid windings 80c ofthe unit 74 in parallel between conductor 272 and a commutator segment278 on shaft 12. We connect the solenoid windings 80d of the unit 76 inparallel between conductor 272 and a commutator segment 280 on shaft 12.We mount a slip ring 282 on shaft 12 for rotation therewith. Respectivebrushes 284, 286, 288, 290, and 292 carried by a brush support 293 onthe frame 10 engage the respective commutator segments 274, 276, 278,and 280 and the slip ring 282. We connect respective normally closedswitches 294, 296, 298, and 300 between brushes 284, 286, 288, and 290and the common conductor 262. A conductor 302 connects the brush 292associated with slip ring 282 to ground.

From-the structure just described it will be seen that in the normalcondition of our control circuit with a brush in engagement with itsassociated commutator segment the corresponding solenoid windings areenergized. For example, with brush 284 in engagement with segment 274,the circuits of windings 80a are complete from terminal 252 through theholding circuit including switch 256 and switch 258, through switch 270and conductor 262, through switch 294 and brush 284 to segment '274 andfrom segment 274 through windings 88a, slip ring 282, brush 292, andconductor 302 to ground. a We provide our control circuit withrespective-holding windings 304, 306, 308, and 310 connectedrespectively in parallel with the switches 294, 296, 298, and 300. Itwill be appreciated that in the normal condition of the switches theyshort'their associated holding windings with the result that the holdingwindings do not carry sufficient current to open the switches. Weconnect actu ating windings 312, 314, 316, and 318 associated with therespective switches 294, 296, 298, and 300 between a common conductor302 and respective segments 320, 322, 324, and 326 of a valve rowselector switch indicated generally by the reference character 328.Switch 328 includes a conducting ring 330 and a contact arm 332 carriedby shaft 12 for rotation with the shaft. As shaft 12 rotates, arm 332successively connects the segments 320, 32 2, 3 24, and 326 to the ring330. We connect a gating circuit 334 adapted to be enabled in responseto the production of an accept signal by the reading head betweenconductor 262 and a conductor 336 connected to ring 330. A delay circuit338 connects the. gating circuit 334 to one terminal of a relay winding340 connected to a commutator brush 342 of the acceptable a ballottake-off drum 104. Shaft 106 carries for rotation therewith a segment344 adapted to be engaged by brush 342. We connect the solenoid winding118 between segment 344 and a slip ring 346 carried by shaft 106 forrotation with the shaft. A brush 348 associated with ring 346 connectsthe ring to ground. When winding 340 is energized in a manner to bedescribed hereinafter, it closes a normally open switch 350 to completea holding circuit for winding 340 througha conductor 352 connected toconductor 262.

Shaft 150 of the rejected ballot take-off drum 148 carries for rotationtherewith a commutator; segment 354 adapted to be engaged by abrush 356connected to conductor 352. We connect the solenoid winding 158 betweensegment 354 and a slip ring 358 carried by shaft 150 for rotationtherewith. A brush 360 engages ring 358 to connect the ring to ground.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, a light source 362 produces a beam of lightdirected toward a photoelectric cell 364. Acceptable ballots being fedto the tray 144 normally interrupt the beam from source 362. With thisbeam interrupted the valve 244 is open to connect hOUS? ing 140 tomanifold 230. Whenthe trailing edge of the last acceptable ballot passesby the beam, this beam is reestablished to energize-the cell 364 topermit valve 244 to close in any suitable manner known to the art.

'A light source 366 disposed over the housing 186 directs a beam oflight toward a photoelectric cell 368 which controls valve 248 throughany convenient means known to the art. Rejected ballots being fed to thetray 192 normally interrupt this beam with the result that valve 248 isopen to connect housing 186 to the manifold 230. As the trailing edge ofthe last rejected ballot passes by the beam, this beam is reestablishedand valve 248 closes to permit the last ballot to drop into the tray.

In operation of our voting ballot handling machine, carrier 32 is firstmoved in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 1 against the action ofsprings 48 to a substantially horizontal position. A stack of ballots 54with their holes 56 aligned are placed on the pins 52. It will be seenthat owing to the disposition of pins 52, a stack of ballots 54 can beplaced on carrier 32 only in the correct manner. When a stack of ballotshas thus been placed on the carrier, it is moved to its erect positionand springs 40 push the ballots up against the surface of plate 66.Atmospheric pressure acting against the reduced pressure within thechamber 62 holds the top ballot in engagement with the surface of thedrum 14. As the carrier 32 is moved into its upright position, winding258 is energized to close switch 270. When this has been done, button250 is operated to complete the circuit of motor 202 and holding winding254 to connect terminal 252 to conductor 262.

Assuming that the assembly 70 is approaching the ballot pickup station,for example, its segment 274 engages the brush 284 to complete thecircuits of the solenoid wind ings 80a to open the ports 82a to causethe unit to draw the top ballot off the stack. Slots 58 permit thisaction without the danger of tearing the ballot. As the ballot which hasbeen picked up by the unit 70 passes through the holding belt system 84,the reading heads 100 scan the ballot to produce an accept signal in theevent that the ballot is acceptable. Assuming that the ballot isacceptable, gating circuit 334 is open to connect ring 330 to theterminal 252. At the same time the switch arm 332 carried by shaft 12connects segment 320 to ring 330. Thus a circuit is complete for winding312 from terminal 252 through circuit 334, through ring 330 and arm 332to segment 320 and through winding 312 to ground. Momentary energizationof winding 312 in this manner opens the normally closed switch 294 tointerrupt the circuit of windings 80a to permit the associated valves toclose. When this occurs, winding 304 is no longer shorted and sufficientcurrent flows through this winding to hold switch 294open as long asbrush 284 engages segment 8. 274. This holding current flowing throughwinding 304 is not, however, suflicient to energize windings 80a.

After a delay which is the equivalent of about 45 of further rotation ofdrum 14, the delay network 338 connects the enabled gating circuit 334to winding 340 to energize this winding. When winding 340 is energized,it closes switch 350 to complete its own holding circuit. The relativedisposition of segment 344 with respect to the main drum segments andthe relative speed of drum 104 with respect to drum 14 are suchthat asthe acceptable ballot, which has'been released by the main drum valveunit '70, arrives at drum 104, segment 344 engages brush 342 and thecircuit of winding 118 is energized to open the acceptable ballot drumports 114. This drum then picks the ballot off the main drum and feedsit between the belts 1'22 and 132. This slow belt system operates atsuch a speed that successive acceptable ballots overlap each other withtheir leading edges separated by a predetermined distance. It will benoted that as the leading edge of a ballot from drum 104 enters betweenbelts 122 and 132, its trailing edge falls away from the drum. Thus theleading edge of the next. ballot is fed to the slow ballot system overthe preceding acceptable ballot. These acceptable ballots interrupt thebeam from source 362 to cause housing 140 to be connected to themanifold 230., Thus the leading edges of the ballots are held to theundersides of belts 132 until they are adjacent to the end of tray 144.In this manner acceptable ballots are neatly stacked in the tray. Whenthe trailing edge of the last ballot passes the beam, valve 244 closesand the last ballot is dropped into the tray.

In the event that the ballot carried by the unit is unacceptable, thereading heads 100 produce no accep signal and gating circuit 334 remainsdisabled. As a result, the windings a remain energized until segment 274leaves brush 284. The arcuate length of segment 274 is such that thisoccurs after the ballot has entered between the drum and belts 162.These belts carry the ballot to the rejected ballot take-off drum 148.The relative disposition with respect to the main drum segments ofsegment 354 and the relative speed of drum 148 with respect to drum 14are such that as a rejected ballot arrives at the drum, segment 354engages brush 356 to complete the circuit of winding 158. When thisoccurs, ports 154 open to take the ballot ofi the drum 14 and feed it tothe slow speed belt system 164. This system and its associated housing186 neatly stack rejected ballots in the tray 192. The tripper belts 194ensure that no ballot remains in the machine to interfere with itsoperation without regard to the operation of the takeoff units.

The operation of the other units of our machine will be apparent fromthe description of the operation of the unit 70 given hereinabove. Itwill be understood that the valve row selector switch 328 assures thatan accept" signal goes only to the actuating winding 312, 314, 316, or318 associated with that unit which is approaching the acceptable ballottake-off drum.

For purposes of convenience in the schematic showing of FIGURE 3, wehave indicated only three windings 80 of each unit. It is to beunderstood that as many windings as there are ports across the machineare provided in each unit. If desired, certain ones of these windingsmay be disabled by opening switches 370 when narrower ballots than thewidest ballot, which can be handled by the machine, are being used. Itis to be understood further that while particular elements have beenshown in the control circuit of FIGURE 3, other various means could beemployed to accomplish a similar result.

It will be seen that We have accomplished the objects of our invention.-We have provided a voting ballot handling machine for rapidly andexpeditiously separating acceptable ballots from rejected ballots. Ourmachine neatly stacks the separated ballots. A ballot handled by ourmachine is always under positive control with the result that there islittle likelihood of a torn or crumpled ballot jamming the machine. Ourmachine includes means for removing any ballot fed to the machine toprevent the ballot from interfering even if the take-oft units fail tofunction.

While we have described our machine in connection with the handling andseparation of ballots it will-be readily appreciated that any paper formcan be handled by the apparatus. By a paper form we mean any fiexiblesheet material it is desired to handle. It will further be appreciatedthat while we have shown a separation of forms into only two stacks, wemay, as desired, separate forms into a larger number of stacks merely byemploying a greater number of take-01f stations with suitably arrangedscanning apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This .is contemplated by and is within the scope of ourclaims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made n detailswithin the scope of our claims without departing from the spirit of ourinvention. It is therefore to be understood that our invention is not tobe limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A paper form handler for'separating forms from a supply into firstforms and second forms including in combination a conveyor, meansdisposed adjacent said conveyor for holding a supply of'forms to beseparated, .a form scanning means located adjacent .said conveyor forproducing a signal in response to the passage of a first form thereby, afirst form pick-off means comprising a driven member for receiving andfor carrying a first form away from said conveyor, a second form pickofimeans, means mounting said second form pick-off means in spacedrelationshipto said first form pick-oft means, means on said conveyorfor withdrawing a form from said supply and retaining a withdrawn formon said conveyor, means for driving said conveyor to move said formwithdrawing and retaining means past said supply and said scanning meansand said first form pick-oft means and second form pick-01f means insequence, means for actuating said withdrawing and retaining means as itapproaches said supply, means responsive to said signal for deactivatingsaidwithdrawing and retaining means and means responsive to the samesignal for actuating said first form pick-off means.

. 2. A paper form handler for separating-forms from a supply into firstforms and second forms including in combination a conveyor, meansdisposed adjacent said conveyor for holding a supply of forms to beseparated, a form scanning means located adjacent said conveyor :forproducing a signal in response to the passage of a first form thereby, afirst form pick-off means responsive to said signal comprising a drivenmember for receiving and for carrying a first form away from saidconveyor, a second form pick-oft means comprising a driven member forreceiving and for carrying a form away from said conveyor, meansmounting said second form pick-off means in spaced relationship to saidfirst form pick-off means, means on said conveyor adapted to be actuatedto withdraw a form from said supply and to retain a withdrawn form onsaid conveyor, means for driving said conveyor to move said withdrawingand retaining means past said supply and said scanning means and saidfirst form pickoff means and second form pick-off means in sequence,means for actuating said withdrawing and retaining means as itapproaches said supply and means responsive to a predetermined movementof said conveyor for deactivating said withdrawing and retaining meansin the absence of a signal from said form scanning means to permit saidsecond pick-off means to carry a form away from said conveyor after itpasses said first pick-off means.

3. A paper form handler for separating forms from a supply into firstforms and second forms including in combination a conveyor, meansdisposed adjacent said conveyor for holding a supply of forms to beseparated, a form scanning means located adjacent said conveyorproducing a signal in response to the passage of a first form thereby, afirst form pick-off means for carrying a first form away from saidconveyor, a second form pickofi means for carrying a form away from saidconveyor, means mounting said second form pick-01f means in spacedrelationship to said first form pick-off means, means on said conveyorfor withdrawing a form from said supply and retaining a withdrawn formon said conveyor, means for driving said conveyor to move saidwithdrawing and retaining means past said supply and said scanning meansand said first form pick-off means and second pick-off means insequence, means for actuating said withdrawning and retaining means asit approaches said supply, means responsive to said signal fordeactivating said withdrawing and retaining means as it approaches saidfirst form pick-ofif means, means responsive to the same signal foractuating said first pick off means and means responsive to apredetermined movement of said conveyor for deactivating said withdrawing and retaining means in the absence of said signal as itapproaches said second form pick-off means to permit said second formpick-off means to carry a form away from said conveyor.

4. A paper form handler for separating forms from a supply into firstforms and second forms including in combination a conveyor, meansdisposed adjacent said conveyor for holding a supply of forms to beseparated, a form scanning means located adjacent said conveyor forproducing a signal in response to the passage of a first form thereby,first form pick-cit means comprising a driven member for receiving andfor carrying a first form away from said conveyor, means for stackingforms carried away from said conveyor by said first pick-ofi means,second form pick-off means comprising a driven member for receiving andfor carrying second forms away from said conveyor, means mounting saidsecond form pick-off means in spaced relationship to said first formpickofi means, means for stacking second forms carried away from saidconveyor by said second pick-oft" means, means on said conveyor forwithdrawing a form from said supply and retaining a withdrawn form onsaid conveyor, means for driving said conveyor to move said withdrawingand retaining means past said supply and said scanning means and saidfirst and second form pick-oif means in sequence, means for actuatingsaid withdrawing and retaining means as it approaches said supply, meansresponsive to said signal for deactivating said withdrawing andretaining means and means responsive to the same signal for actuatingsaid first form pick-oif means.

5. A paper form handler for sparating forms from a supply into firstforms and second forms including in combination a conveyor, meansdisposed adjacent said conveyor for holding a supply of forms to beseparated, form scanning means located adjacent said conveyor forproducing a signal in response to the passage of a first form thereby, afirst form pick-off means responsive to said signal comprising a drivenmember for receiving and for carrying a first form away from saidconveyor, a second form pick-oflf means for carrying second forms fromsaid conveyor, means mounting said second form pick-01f means in spacedrelation to said first pick-off means, a plurality of individuallyactuatable means spaced along the length of said conveyor and forwithdrawing a form from said supply and retaining a withdrawn form onsaid conveyor, means for driving said conveyor to move said withdrawingand retaining means sequentially past said supply and said scanningmeans and said first form pick-off means and second form pick-01f meansin sequence, means for actuating each of said withdrawing and retainingmeans as it approaches said supply, means responsive to said signal fordeactivating a withdrawing and retaining means as it approaches saidfirst pick-01f means and means re- 11 sponsive to the same signal foractuating said first pickofi' means.

6. A paper form handling machine including in combination a support, ahollow drum having a peripheral skin, a source of reduced pressure,means connecting the interior of said drum to said source of reducedpressure, means mounting said drum for rotary movement on said support,means disposed adjacent said drum for holding a supply of forms, meanson said drum for providing communication to the interior of said drumthrough said skin, a first pick-off means comprising a driven member forreceiving and for carrying forms away from said drum, a second pick-ofimeans comprising a driven member for receiving and for carrying formsaway from said drum, means positioning said pick-off means adjacent saiddrum in spaced relationship to each other, scanning means for producingan output signal in response to the passage of a form of a certaincharacter thereby, means for driving said drum to move saidcommunication providing means successively past said supply and saidscanning means and said first pick-oil means and said second pick-offmeans, means for actuating said communication providing means as itapproaches said supply of forms, means responsive to said output signalfor deactivating said communication providing means and means responsiveto the same signal for actuating said first pick-ofl means.

i 7. A paper form handling machine including in combination a conveyor,means for supporting a supply of forms to be handled adjacent saidconveyor, means comprising a driven member for receiving and forcarrying a form away from said conveyor, means mounting said formreceiving means adjacent said conveyor in spaced relationship to saidform supply holding means, means on said conveyor for withdrawing a formfrom said supply and for retaining said form on said conveyor, means fordriving said conveyor to move said form withdrawing and retaining meanssuccessively past said supply and said form receiving means, means foractuating said form withdrawing and retaining means as it approachessaid supply, means for deactivating said form withdrawing and retainingmeans as it approaches said form receiving means and means for actuatingsaid form receiving means to carry a withdrawn form away from saidconveyor.

8. A paper form handling machine including in combination a frame, afirst hollow drum having a peripheral skin, means mounting said drum forrotary movement on said frame, a source of reduced pressure, meansconnecting the interior of said drum to said source of reduced pressure,means for supporting a supply of forms to be handled on said frameadjacent said drum, means adapted to be actuated to providecommunication to the interior of said drum through said skin, a seconddrum, means mounting said second drum for rotary movement on said frameadjacent said first drum, means on said second drum adapted to beactuated to remove a form from said first drum, means for driving saidfirst drum to move said communication providing means past said supplyand past said second drum in sequence, means for actuating saidcommunication providing means as it approaches said supply, means fordeactivating said communication providing means at is approaches saidsecond drum and means for actuating said second drum removal means.

9. A paper form machine, as in claim 8, including means for stackingforms removed from said first drum by said second drum.

10. A paper form handling machine including in combination a frame, afirst hollow drum having a peripheral skin, means mounting said drum forrotary movement on said frame, a source of reduced pressure, meansconnecting the interior of said drum to said source of reduced pressure,means for supporting a supply of forms to be handled on said frameadjacent said drum, means adapted to be actuated to providecommunication to the interior of said drum through said skin, a secondhollow drum having a peripheral skin, means connecting the interior ofsaid second drum to said source of reduced pressure, means mounting saidsecond drum for rotary movement on said frame adjacent said first drum,means adapted to be actuated to provide communication to the interior ofsaid second drum through said second drum peripheral skin, means fordriving said first drum to move its communication providing meanssuccessively past said supply and past said second drum, means foractuating said first drum communication providing means as it approaches said supply, means for deactivating said first drumcommunication providing means as it approaches said second drum'andmeans for actuating said second drum communication providing means assaid first drum communication providing means approaches said seconddrum.

11. A paper form handling machine including in combination a support, ahollow drum having a peripheral skin, a source of reduced pressure,means connecting the interior of said drum to said source of reducedpressure means mounting said drum for rotary movement on said support,means disposed adjacent said drum for holding a supply of forms, meanson said drum adapted to be actuated to provide communication to theinterior of said drum through said skin, a form take off means disposedadjacent said drum, means for driving said drum to move saidcommunication providing means past said supply and said removal means insequence, means for actuating said communication providing means as itapproaches said supply of forms, means for deactivating said cornmunication providing means after a predetermined rotation of said drumand a plurality of stripper belts for removing forms remaining on saiddrum after said communication providing means passes said removal means.

12. Ina form handling mechanism having a conveyor for transferring aform from a supply to a location remote from said supply, means forremoving a form from said conveyor atsaid remote location, a tray, asecond conveyor for carrying a form from said removal means to saidtray, means for retaining a form on said conveyor until the form is inposition over said tray and means responsive to the arrival of a form ina position over said tray for deactivating said retaining means.

13. A paper form handling mechanism including in combination a support,a first drum, means mounting said first drum for rotary movement on saidsupport, means for holding a supply of forms to be handled on saidsupport adjacent said drum, a second drum, means mounting said seconddrum for rotary movement on said support, means on said first drumadapted to be actuated to withdraw a form from said supply and to retaina withdrawn form on said drum, means on said second drum adapted to beactuated to remove a form from said first drum,

means for driving said first drum to convey a form from said supply tosaid second drum, a slow speed belt system supported on said frameadjacent said second drum, means for driving said second drum to carry aremoved form from said first drum to said belt system, a tray forreceiving forms from said slow speed belt system, means for driving saidslow speed belt system to carry a form from said second drum to saidtray, and means for retaining a form on said slow speed belt systemuntil it is disposed over said tray.

14. In a form handling mechanism having a conveyor for transferring aform from a supply to a location remote from the supply, means fordriving said first conveyor at a certain speed, a second conveyor, meansfor driving said second conveyor ata speed which is less than saidcertain speed, means for transferring forms from said first conveyor tosaid'second conveyor whereby, said second conveyor receives a pluralityof forms in overlapping relationship, a tray positioned adjacent saidsecond conveyor for receiving-forms from said second conveyor and meanscomprising a low pressure platen for 13 1 retaining said overlappingforms on said second conveyor 2,617,528 Moore Nov. 11, 1952 until theyare in a position over said tray to cause a neat 2,795,328 Tyler June11, 1957 stack of forms to be deposited in said tray. 2,804,974 NoonSept. 3, 1957 2,848,107 Iuengst Aug. 19, 195 8 References Cited in thefile of this patent 5 2,905,466 Alan SePt- 1959 UNITED STATES PATENTSFOREIGN PATENTS 2,229,638 Chamberlin Ian. 23, 1941 103,201 Sweden 2, 191

1. A PAPER FORM HANDLER FOR SEPARATING FORMS FROM A SUPPLY INTO FIRSTFORMS AND SECOND FORMS INCLUDING IN COMBINATION A CONVEYOR, MEANSDISPOSED ADJACENT SAID CONVEYOR FOR HOLDING A SUPPLY OF FORMS TO BESEPARATED, A FORM SCANNING MEANS LOCATED ADJACENT SAID CONVEYOR FORPRODUCING A SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO THE PASSAGE OF A FIRST FORM THEREBY, AFIRST FORM PICK-OFF MEANS COMPRISING A DRIVEN MEMBER FOR RECEIVING ANDFOR CARRYING A FIRST FORM AWAY FROM SAID CONVEYOR, A SECOND FORM PICKOFFMEANS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID SECOND FORM PICK-OFF MEANS IN SPACEDRELATIONSHIP TO SAID FIRST FORM PICK-OFF MEANS, MEANS ON SAID CONVEYORFOR WITHDRAWING A FORM FROM SAID SUPPLY AND RETAINING A WITHDRAWN FORMON SAID CONVEYOR, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CONVEYOR TO MOVE SAID FORMWITHDRAWING AND RETAINING MEANS PAST SAID SUPPLY AND SAID SCANNING MEANSAND SAID FIRST FORM PICK-OFF MEANS AND SECOND FORM PICK-OFF MEANS INSEQUENCE, MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID WITHDRAWING AND RETAINING MEANS AS ITAPPROACHES SAID SUPPLY, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID SIGNAL FOR DEACTIVATINGSAID WITHDRAWING AND RETAINING MEANS AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE SAMESIGNAL FOR ACTUATING SAID FIRST FORM PICK-OFF MEANS.